In the event of departure delays and the resulting waiting times, airlines are obliged to offer passengers care services free of charge. This means snacks, drinks and - if necessary - hotel accommodation and transfer between the airport and hotel as well as contact by e-mail or telephone. This generally applies if the departure

• is delayed by two hours or more for flights of up to 1,500 km.
• flights within the EU of 1,500 km or more are delayed by three hours or more.
• is delayed by three hours or more for flights of 1,500 km up to 3,500 km (not within the EU).
• is delayed by four hours or more for flights over 3,500 km[nbsp](not within the EU).

According to the press release published by the NIKI insolvency administrator on 14.12.2017, flight tickets purchased within a certain period will be refunded....

Anyone who needs assistance at the airport due to a disability or reduced mobility will receive this free of charge. If possible, the need should be announced 48 hours before departure.

Passengers are obliged to look after their luggage. This also applies if the train attendant orders a piece of luggage to be placed on an open luggage rack that cannot be seen from the seat.

If an item of luggage is stolen during a train journey, the rail company is generally not liable. This was recently decided by the Supreme Court.

In Austria, Hungarian bus companies mainly operate on the Budapest-Vienna city center and Budapest-Vienna airport routes. The apf received a number of complaints about a Hungarian bus company that had canceled bus trips from Budapest to Vienna at short notice and without providing sufficient information to the passengers concerned. As the passengers had to book alternative transportation and were therefore faced with additional costs, they turned to the apf.

Due to the opening of insolvency proceedings in November 2017, Air Berlin is no longer able to compensate any claims. Unfortunately, apf can therefore no longer accept or process complaints about Air Berlin.

Annual travelcards also count as season tickets and allow unlimited use of trains (and usually also buses) on the selected route for a predefined period of one year. Holders of (network) annual tickets receive compensation if the punctuality level for regional services, which is set by the railroad companies, is not achieved. This must be at least 95 percent per month. All regional trains on the respective route section are measured. Most railroad companies use the route section-related evaluations of ÖBB-Infrastruktur.

The suspension of Air Berlin's flight operations is an exceptional situation that is very difficult for Air Berlin customers. According to information from apf, Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and SWISS are therefore offering discounted flights home to stranded passengers who booked their flight with Air Berlin before August 15, 2017. In order to take advantage of the offer, the flight home must take place between October 28, 2017 and November 15, 2017.

The offer applies to flights within Europe, e.g. passengers who have booked Austria-Spain-Austria and are stranded in Spain can accept the offer. Long-haul traffic was already discontinued by Air Berlin on October 15 and has therefore not been taken into account.

The type of transport contract is relevant for fare compensation, i.e. whether a single, weekly, monthly or annual ticket is used. Depending on which ticket was purchased, passengers have different rights in the event of train delays, train cancellations or missed connecting trains. A delay occurs when the train arrives late at a station or stop. However, trains are not immediately considered late; most Austrian and European railroad companies only measure a delay after a certain period of delay. For ÖBB-Personenverkehr , for example, this is 5 minutes 29 seconds.

The airline Air Berlin filed for insolvency on August 15, 2017. Due to the insolvency, special regulations apply to all passengers who have been or will be affected - e.g. by a flight delay or flight cancellation.

From a legal perspective, compensation claims against Air Berlin remain valid even in the event of insolvency, meaning that passengers are entitled to compensation in the event of delays and cancellations. From an economic point of view, the compensation claim is difficult to enforce in the event of insolvency, as the company is insolvent and any compensation claims are against the insolvency estate.

Sample letters for complaints to airlines are available on the homepage of Agency for Passenger Rights . The sample letters were created on the basis of the EU Passenger Rights Regulation (Regulation (EC) 261/2004) and inform the airline of your rights in the following cases:

• Flight delay 
• Flight cancellation 
• Flight overbooking/denied boarding 
• Downgrade/downgrading

In multimodal transportation, different means of transport are used during a trip. This can be, for example, the train as a feeder for a ship or flight. In these cases, only the passenger rights of the respective mode of transport apply.

In exceptional circumstances, airlines are exempt from the obligation to pay compensation in the event of delays and flight cancellations. These circumstances therefore represent a significant exception to the consumer protection provisions in Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004, which, according to the established case law of the ECJ, must be interpreted narrowly in cases of doubt in order to ensure the best possible protection of passenger rights. The term "extraordinary circumstances" is not defined more precisely in the regulation itself, but is only described as meaning that the flight irregularity could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken by the air carrier.

In principle, the Regulation on the rights of bus and coach passengers applies if a timetable is published, i.e. it is a scheduled bus journey, the place of arrival or departure is within the EU (or the EEA) and the route is at least 250 kilometers long. In addition, the majority of the route must be within the EU (or EEA). The legal basis for this is Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 181/2011 and Section 32a of the Austrian Motorail Act (KflG).

Time and again, passengers who have booked a flight whose departure and arrival times have been unilaterally changed by the airline contact apf. If this results in a delayed arrival at the final destination by more than three hours (compared to the original booking), the passengers are generally not entitled to compensation, as the flight schedule has already been changed accordingly in advance and the last announced arrival time is decisive for the calculation of a delay.

The Vorteilscard and Österreichcard can either be paid in cash or debited monthly from the passenger's account using the SEPA direct debit procedure. In the case of direct debit from the account, it is important to know that after receiving the notification letter in which the railroad company informs about the automatic renewal of the card, the passenger must send a written notice of termination to the company if he or she does not wish this renewal. This must be done within four weeks of receiving the notification.

If an aircraft returns to the departure airport, passengers have the same rights as in the event of a flight cancellation. The term "cancellation" according to the Passenger Rights Regulation also includes the case that an aircraft takes off but has to return to the departure airport for unforeseeable reasons (a so-called turnaround).

A complainant wanted to book a journey from Feldkirch to Graz by car train with her two children. As it is not yet possible to book passenger and car train tickets online at the same time, she bought the passenger tickets first, which worked without any problems. However, when she then wanted to book the ticket for the car and this was not possible, she contacted the rail company. She was informed by telephone that there were obviously no more car train tickets available because the seats had already been taken. As the journey without the car was pointless for the complainant, she wanted to cancel the passenger tickets she had booked. As the rail company refused to cancel, she turned to the apf. The apf managed to ensure that the complainant received the entire cost of the passenger tickets back in the form of vouchers.

If a flight is canceled, the airline must offer passengers the choice between a refund of the ticket price, alternative transportation or a return flight to the first point of departure at the earliest possible time.

In order to be able to participate in the compensation procedure, many transport associations require you to separately consent to the transfer of data to the rail company when ordering or renewing your annual pass. It is not always clear whether consent has been given and therefore whether registration has taken place. The Verkehrsverbund Ostregion should be mentioned here on a positive note. Since the fare changeover in 2016, it has automatically transmitted the data of all annual travelcards that include rail transportation to the respective company.

On the apf homepage at www.passagier.at you will find a simple and clear summary of your rights in rail transport. Simply click here to be redirected...

apf was able to support an annual pass holder to whom the rail company did not want to pay the annual pass compensation. The reason for this was that no route was entered in the delay compensation system. The traveler purchased a Verbund annual ticket and then correctly registered for the delay compensation on the ÖBB-PV homepage (ÖBB-PV). After evaluating the train delays for 2014, the compensation amount due to him was automatically transferred to the specified account. This was not the case in 2015, when he was not paid any compensation.

According to Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2006, passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility are entitled to the best efforts of airlines to accommodate their needs when allocating seats.

Time and again, passengers contact apf who have booked a flight whose departure and arrival times have been unilaterally changed by the airline.

ÖBB-Personenverkehr (ÖBB-PV) not only operates trains but also a long-distance bus line, the ÖBB intercity bus. The ÖBB intercity bus runs on the Graz-Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt-Venice and Venice-Lido di Jesolo routes.

A travel group of five people (one person in a wheelchair) was traveling from Bonn to Vienna. According to the complainant (BF), the wheelchair was also registered when the ticket was purchased. The outward journey went smoothly, but on the return journey the entire group was denied boarding because of the wheelchair.

For many travelers, price is an important criterion when choosing a means of transport. So that passengers do not have to research and compare prices themselves on a large number of websites, so-called price comparison portals offer this research free of charge. This service is often offered by start-up companies, but established transport companies also offer price comparison portals.

In Austria, Hungarian bus companies mainly operate on the Budapest-Vienna city center and Budapest-Vienna airport routes. The apf has received a number of complaints about a Hungarian bus company that canceled bus trips from Budapest to Vienna at short notice and without providing sufficient information to the passengers concerned.

In the event of a dispute with the company, apf ensures that solutions are found quickly. Unlike other providers, apf's service is free of charge and commission-free for you as a passenger. This means that passengers always receive the full amount of compensation back and do not have to pay any commission even if their claim is successful.

In today's case, we provide information on the services to be provided by an airline in the event of cancellation if passengers have been informed in good time, i.e. at least 14 days before the scheduled departure date.

In the event of a dispute with the rail company, apf ensures that solutions are found quickly. Unlike other providers, apf's service is free of charge and commission-free for you as a passenger. This means that passengers always receive the full amount of compensation back and do not have to pay any commission even if their claim is successful.

In today's case, the complainants traveled by night train from Hamburg to Vienna. Due to a heating failure and water damage in the toilet of the carriage, the quality of the train was impaired.

The EU Passenger Rights Regulation governs your rights in the event of delays and cancellations. However, this only applies if a single contract of carriage has been concluded. This is the case if there is a single reservation number or booking code for a multi-segment flight, i.e. a flight with one or more connecting flights. This is guaranteed, for example, when booking directly with airlines and generally when booking through a trusted travel agency, but not always when booking via online portals.

As she had lost her annual ticket, the passenger was unable to show it at the train inspection and was therefore fined. As she felt this was not justified, she contacted the rail company's customer service by telephone, who informed her that she would have to submit an objection in writing. She did so shortly before the statutory deadline of one month expired.

You may have experienced it yourself: you book a flight that is due to take place in a few months and a few weeks before departure you are informed that the airline has changed the flight times. In most cases, this does not improve the itinerary from the customer's point of view, as the change is perceived as unfavorable or interferes with previous travel plans.

Today's case concerns a train delay on a cross-border journey due to which the passenger was unable to take advantage of the hotel accommodation booked at her destination (Lienz).

Simple, fast and free of charge. Unlike other providers, in the event of a dispute with a company, apf mediates for passengers free of charge and commission-free. This means that you as a traveler always receive the full amount of compensation back and do not have to pay any commission even if your claim is successful.

In today's case, we inform you about what claims you have against an airline if your flight arrives at its destination more than 3 hours late.

Today we are dealing with a case in which a passenger[nbsp]missed her train from Linz to Wels because she was instructed by the train attendant to use one of the less busy doors to board due to the large number of passengers.

The range of long-distance coach trips, as a cost-effective alternative to other means of transport, is also growing steadily on the Austrian market. We would therefore like to inform you today about the criteria used to differentiate between hand luggage and luggage and which legal regulations must be taken into account when taking luggage with you.

Today we are telling you about a case in which the owner of an ÖSTERREICHCARD moved house and did not inform the rail company of her new address. As a result, the ÖSTERREICHCARD was automatically extended after expiry.

The range of long-distance coach trips, as a cost-effective alternative to other means of transport, is also growing steadily on the Austrian market. We would therefore like to inform you today about the criteria used to differentiate between hand luggage and luggage and which legal regulations must be taken into account when taking luggage with you.

Today we are dealing with a case in which a traveler lost his provisionally issued ÖSTERRREICHCARD (this is a paper card with which discounted tickets can be purchased until the plastic card is received). After consultation with the railroad company, he was not issued a new paper card but was advised to buy all the tickets he needed until he received the plastic card at the normal price, have them personalized with his name and submit them collectively to the railroad company for reimbursement of the difference.

In today's case, we inform you about what claims you have against an airline if your flight arrives at its destination more than 3 hours late.

In today's case, we report on a long-distance bus from Linz to Prague being canceled and how you can best react to this.

In today's complaint case, we report on what you can do if you have accidentally bought more tickets than you need from a ticket machine and paid with an ATM card.

In today's case, we inform you about a flight cancellation from Vienna to Milan and what rights you have if you accept the replacement flight offered for the next day.

VORTEILSCARD holders are entitled to use the discounted ÖBB-Personenverkehr fares for one year (e.g. if purchased on March 1, 2016, the card is valid until February 28, 2017). This means that after the validity period, in our case from March 1, 2017, the normal price must be paid if the VORTEILSCARD is not extended or the new card is forgotten.

In today's article, we report on a complaint that was lodged with apf because a regular customer had mistakenly inserted her old VORTEILCARD instead of the new one and therefore had to pay the full price for the ticket at the ticket counter.

In the event of a dispute with the company, apf ensures that solutions are found quickly. Unlike other providers, apf's service is free of charge and commission-free for you as a passenger. This means that passengers always receive the full amount of compensation back and do not have to pay any commission even if their claim is successful.

In today's case, we provide information on what services an airline must provide in the event of flight delays.

In today's article, we want to inform you about what you need to consider if you are traveling by train on a winter vacation and want to take your skis or snowboard with you. As a general rule, luggage may be transported free of charge in passenger carriages, but care must be taken to ensure that aisles and doors are clear and that no one is prevented from passing through. Passengers are also responsible for supervising their own luggage.

If passengers arrive at their final destination more than three hours later than booked, they are generally entitled to a compensation payment (often referred to as "delay compensation") of between 250 euros and 600 euros per person, depending on the flight distance. The same applies if a flight is canceled at short notice and the airline is unable to offer a flight that departs no more than one hour earlier or arrives at the destination two hours later.

But what happens if an aircraft takes off but then has to either return to the departure airport or make a stopover at another airport for security reasons?